Multilayer substrate

ABSTRACT

A multilayer substrate that retains a curved state without causing fluctuations in electrical characteristics includes a main body including a plurality of insulating sheets to be stacked and made of a flexible material. A signal wire extends in the main body. A ground conductor is provided at a positive-direction side in a z-axis direction relative to the signal wire in the main body, and overlaps the signal line in a plan view seen from the z-axis direction. A ground conductor is provided on a negative-direction side in the z-axis direction relative to the signal wire in the main body, and overlaps the signal line in a plan view seen from the z-axis direction. The state in which the main body is curved so that the signal wire defines an arc is retained by plastic deformation of the ground conductors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a multilayer substrate, and moreparticularly relates to a multilayer substrate including a groundconductor and a signal wire.

2. Description of the Related Art

As an example of existing multilayer substrates, a flexible printedsubstrate disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2006-165079 is known. FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate theconfiguration of a flexible printed substrate 500 disclosed in JapaneseUnexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-165079.

The flexible printed substrate 500 includes a composite sheet 502 and ametal plate 504 as illustrated in FIG. 5A. The composite sheet 502includes a plurality of stacked insulating sheets and has a conductorpattern (not shown) in the composite sheet 502. The metal plate 504 isprovided in the composite sheet 502. The above-described flexibleprinted substrate 500 is bent along a chain line 506 shown in FIG. 5A.During bending, the metal plate 504 is plastically deformed such thatthe flexible printed substrate 500 retains a folded state illustrated inFIG. 5B. Accordingly, the flexible printed substrate 500 can be used inthe folded state.

When the metal plate 504 and the conductor pattern are close to eachother, a stray capacitance may be formed between the metal plate 504 andthe conductor pattern in the flexible printed substrate 500. As aconsequence, electrical characteristic values of the flexible printedsubstrate 500 may often deviate from desired values.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide amultilayer substrate capable of retaining a curved state without causingfluctuations in electrical characteristics.

A multilayer substrate according to a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention includes a main body including a plurality ofinsulating sheets to be stacked and made of a flexible material, asignal wire in the main body, a first ground conductor that is providedat one side of the signal wire in a stacking direction in the main body,such that the first ground conductor overlaps the signal wire in a planview seen from the stacking direction, and a second ground conductorthat is provided at the other side of the signal wire in the stackingdirection in the main body, such that the second ground conductoroverlaps the signal wire in a plan view seen from the stackingdirection, wherein the main body containing the single wire retains acurved state by plastic deformation of the first and second groundconductors.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention allow a multilayersubstrate to retain a curved state without changing or affectingelectrical characteristics of the substrate.

The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics andadvantages of the present invention will become more apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiments withreference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a signal line according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate exploded views of the signal line of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along A-A shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4A illustrates the state where the signal line is curved and FIG.4B is an enlarged view of portion B shown in FIG. 4A.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate the configuration of the flexible printedsubstrate disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2006-165079.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a signal line related to preferred embodiments of amultilayer substrate according to the present invention will bedescribed with reference to drawings.

The configuration of a signal line according to a preferred embodimentof the present invention will be described with reference to thedrawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a signal line 10 according toa preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 2A-2D illustrateexploded views of the signal line 10 of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a crosssectional view taken along A-A shown in FIG. 1. In FIGS. 1 to 3, thestacking direction of the signal line 10 is defined as a z-axisdirection. Further, the longitudinal direction of the signal line 10 isdefined as an x-axis direction, and a direction orthogonal to the x-axisdirection and the z-axis direction is defined as a y-axis direction.

The signal line 10 establishes a connection between two circuitsubstrates in, for example, an electronic device such as a mobile phone.As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the signal line 10 includes a main body12, external terminals 14 (14 a to 14 f), ground conductors 30 and 34, asignal wire 32, and via-hole conductors b1 to b16.

The main body 12 includes a signal-wire portion 16 and connectorportions 18 and 20 as illustrated in FIG. 1. The signal-wire portion 16extends in the x-axis direction, and includes the signal wire 32 and theground conductors 30 and 34.

The signal-wire portion 16 can be bent into a U-shape. The connectorportions 18 and 20 are provided on both ends of the signal-wire portion16 in the x-axis direction, and connected to the connectors of a circuitsubstrate which is not shown. The main body 12 includes insulatingsheets 22 (22 a to 22 d) illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D, which are stackedin that order from the positive-direction side to the negative-directionside in the z-axis direction.

The insulating sheet 22 includes a thermoplastic resin such as aliquid-crystal polymer having flexibility. The insulating sheet 22preferably has a Young's modulus of about 2 GPa to about 30 GPa, forexample. As illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D, the insulating sheets 22 a to 22d include signal-wire portions 24 a to 24 d, and the connector portions26 a to 26 d and 28 a to 28 d, respectively. The signal-wire portion 24constitutes the signal-line portion 16 of the main body 12, and theconnector portions and 28 constitute the connector portions 18 and 20 ofthe main body 12, respectively. Further, the main surface of theinsulating sheet 22 on the positive-direction side in the z-axisdirection is referred to as a top surface, and that of the insulatingsheet 22 on the negative-direction side in the z-axis direction isreferred to as a back surface.

The external terminals 14 a to 14 c are arranged on the top surface ofthe connector portion 26 a to define a line in the y-axis direction asillustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D. When the connector portion 18 is insertedinto a connector of the circuit substrate, the external terminals 14 ato 14 c are brought into contact with terminals provided in theconnector. More specifically, the external terminals 14 a and 14 c arebrought into contact with ground terminals provided in the connector,and the external terminal 14 b is brought into contact with a signalterminal provided in the connector. Accordingly, ground potentials areapplied to the external terminals 14 a and 14 c, and a high-frequencysignal (2 GHz, for example) is applied to the external terminal 14 b.

The external terminals 14 d to 14 f are provided on the top surface ofthe connector portion 28 a to define a line in the y-axis direction.When the connector portion 20 is inserted into a connector of thecircuit substrate, the external terminals 14 d to 14 f are brought intocontact with terminals provided in the connector. More specifically, theexternal terminals 14 d and 14 f are brought into contact with groundterminals provided in the connector, and the external terminal 14 e isbrought into contact with a signal terminal provided in the connector.Accordingly, ground potentials are applied to the external terminals 14d and 14 f, and a high-frequency signal (2 GHz, for example) is appliedto the external terminal 14 e.

The signal wire 32 includes a metal film preferably made of a copperfoil, for example. As illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D, the signal wire 32 isattached to the top surface of the insulating sheet 22 c and extended inthe main body 12. More specifically, the signal wire 32 includes a lineportion 32 a and connection portions 32 b and 32 c. The line portion 32a is extended on the top surface of the signal-wire portion 24 c in thex-axis direction. Then, the connection portion 32 b is connected to anend of the line portion 32 a on the positive-direction side in thex-axis direction. The connection portion 32 c is connected to an end ofthe line portion 32 a on the negative-direction side in the x-axisdirection. Then, a line width W1 of the line portion 32 a in the y-axisdirection is narrower than a line width W2 of the connection portions 32b and 32 c in the y-axis direction. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 3,the surface roughness of a main surface (back surface) of the signalwire 32 on the negative-direction side in the z-axis direction isgreater than that of a main surface (top surface) of the signal wire 32on the positive-direction side in the z-axis direction so that thesignal wire 32 is brought into contact with the insulating sheet 22 cmore intimately. More specifically, the surface roughness of the backsurface of the signal wire 32 preferably is about 9 μm to about 50 μm,and that of the top surface of the signal wire 32 is about 0 μm to about6 μm, for example. Accordingly, the back surface of the signal wire 32is engaged in the top surface of the insulating sheet 22 c asillustrated in FIG. 3 so that the signal wire 32 is attached to theinsulating sheet 22 c. The signal wire 32 includes a copper layerpreferably having a thickness of about 5 μm to about 25 μm in the z-axisdirection, and preferably has a Young's modulus of about 100 GPa toabout 150 GPa, for example. Incidentally, the signal wire 32 ispressure-contacted on the insulating sheet 22 b at the manufacturingtime so that the signal wire 32 is brought into intimate contact withthe insulating sheet 22 b. Therefore, the signal wire 32 is attached tothe insulating sheet 22 b far more weakly than to the insulating sheet22 c.

The ground conductor 30 is provided on the positive-direction side inthe z-axis direction relative to the signal wire 32 as illustrated inFIGS. 2A-2D. More specifically, the ground conductor 30 is attached tothe top surface of the insulating sheet 22 b. The ground conductor 30extends on the top surface of the signal-wire portion 24 b in the x-axisdirection. An end of the ground conductor 30 is placed on the connectorportion 26 b in the state of being divided into two branches, andanother end of the ground conductor 30 is placed on the connectorportion 28 b in the state of being divided into two branches. Further,the ground conductor 30 overlaps the signal wire 32 in a plan view fromthe z-axis direction as illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D and 3.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the surface roughness of a mainsurface (back surface) of the ground conductor 30 on thenegative-direction side in the z-axis direction is greater than that ofa main surface (top surface) of the ground conductor 30 on thepositive-direction side in the z-axis direction so that the groundconductor 30 is brought into contact with the insulating sheet 22 b moreintimately. More specifically, the surface roughness of the back surfaceof the ground conductor 30 preferably is about 9 μm to about 50 μm, andthat of the top surface of the ground conductor 30 preferably is about 0μm to about 6 μm, for example. Accordingly, the back surface of theground conductor 30 is engaged in the top surface of the insulatingsheet 22 b as illustrated in FIG. 3 so that the ground conductor 30 isattached to the insulating sheet 22 b. The ground conductor 30preferably includes a copper layer having a thickness of about 5 μm toabout 25 μm in the z-axis direction, and preferably has a Young'smodulus of about 100 GPa to about 150 GPa, for example. Therefore, theground conductor 30 is attached to the insulating sheet 22 a far moreweakly than to the insulating sheet 22 b.

The ground conductor 34 is provided on the negative-direction side inthe z-axis direction relative to the signal wire 32 as illustrated inFIGS. 2A-2D. More specifically, the ground conductor 34 is attached tothe top surface of the insulating sheet 22 d. The ground conductor 34extends on the top surface of the signal-wire portion 24 d in the x-axisdirection. On the connector portion 26 d, both ends of the groundconductor are wider in the y-axis direction than the other portion.Further, the ground conductor 34 is provided with openings Op1 and Op2at positions overlapping the connection portions 32 b and 32 c in a planview from the z-axis direction. An increase in the stray capacitancebetween the signal wire 32 and the ground conductor 34 is reduced byproviding the openings Op1 and Op2. Further, the ground conductor 34overlaps the signal wire 32 in a plan view from the z-axis direction asillustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D.

Incidentally, both ends of the ground conductor 34 may branch on theconnector portions 26 d and 28 d as is the case with the groundconductor 30. However, electrode areas obtained by increasing the linewidth of the ground conductor 34 on the connector portions 26 d and 28d, and providing the openings Op1 and Op2 at positions overlapping theconnection portions 32 b and 32 c become greater than those obtained bycausing the ground conductor 34 to branch on the connector portions 26 dand 28 d, which favorably increases the stiffness of the connectorportions 26 d and 28 d.

In the main body 12 of the signal line 10, the line width W1 of the lineportion 32 a in the y-axis direction is smaller than the line width W2of the connection portions 32 b and 32 c in the y-axis direction.Further, the electrode area of the connector portions 26 d and 28 d areincreased as described above. Accordingly, when the signal-wire portion16 extending in the x-axis direction is bent, the connector portions 18and 20 are less bendable than the signal-wire part 16. As a consequence,the signal-wire portion 16 can be bent into a U-shape with increasedstability.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the surface roughness of a mainsurface (back surface) of the ground conductor 34 on thenegative-direction side in the z-axis direction is greater than that ofa main surface (top surface) of the ground conductor 34 on thepositive-direction side in the z-axis direction so that the groundconductor 34 is brought into contact with the insulating sheet 22 d moreintimately. More specifically, the surface roughness of the back surfaceof the ground conductor 34 preferably is about 9 μm to about 50 μm, andthat of the top surface of the ground conductor 34 preferably is about 0μm to about 6 μm, for example. Accordingly, the back surface of theground conductor 34 is engaged in the top surface of the insulatingsheet 22 d as illustrated in FIG. 3 so that the ground conductor 34 isattached to the insulating sheet 22 d. The ground conductor 34 includesa copper layer preferably having a thickness of about 5 μm to about 25μm in the z-axis direction and preferably has a Young's modulus of about100 GPa to about 150 GPa, for example. Therefore, the ground conductor34 is attached to the insulating sheet 22 c far more weakly than to theinsulating sheet 22 d.

Incidentally, the spacing between the ground conductors 30 and 34 in thez-axis direction preferably is about 50 μm to about 200 μm, for example.

Each of the via-hole conductors b1 and b3 passes through the connectorportion 26 a in the z-axis direction so that the external terminals 14 aand 14 c are connected to the ground conductor 30 as illustrated inFIGS. 2A-2D. The via-hole conductor b2 passes through the connectorportion 26 a in the z-axis direction and is connected to the externalterminal 14 b as illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D.

Each of the via-hole conductors b7 and b9 passes through the connectorportion 26 b in the z-axis direction, and is connected to the groundconductor 30 as illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D. The via-hole conductor b8passes through the connector portion 26 b in the z-axis direction sothat the via-hole conductor b2 is connected to the signal wire 32 asillustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D.

Each of the via-hole conductors b13 and b14 passes through the connectorportion 26 c in the z-axis direction so that the via-hole conductors b7and b9 are connected to the ground conductor 34 as illustrated in FIGS.2A-2D. Accordingly, the external terminal 14 a is connected to theground conductors 30 and 34 via the via-hole conductors b1, b7, and b13,and the external terminal 14 c is connected to the ground conductors 30and 34 via the via-hole conductors b3, b9, and b14. Further, theexternal terminal 14 b is connected to the signal wire 32 via thevia-hole conductors b2 and b8.

Each of the via-hole conductors b4 and b6 passes through the connectorportion 28 a in the z-axis direction so that the external terminals 14 dand 14 f are connected to the ground conductor 30 as illustrated inFIGS. 2A-2D. The via-hole conductor b5 passes through the connectorportion 28 a in the z-axis direction, and is connected to the externalterminal 14 e as illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D.

Each of the via-hole conductors b10 and b12 passes through the connectorportion 28 b in the z-axis direction, and is connected to the groundconductor 30 as illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D. The via-hole conductor b11passes through the connector portion 28 b in the z-axis direction sothat the via-hole conductor b5 is connected to the signal wire 32 asillustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D.

Each of the via-hole conductors b15 and b16 passes through the connectorportion 28 c in the z-axis direction so that the via-hole conductors b10and b12 are connected to the ground conductor 34 as illustrated in FIGS.2A-2D. Accordingly, the external terminal 14 d is connected to theground conductors 30 and 34 via the via-hole conductors b4, b10, andb15, and the external terminal 14 f is connected to the groundconductors 30 and 34 via the via-hole conductors b6, b12, and b16.Further, the external terminal 14 e is connected to the signal wire 32via the via-hole conductors b5 and b11.

The insulating sheets 22 a to 22 d having the above-describedconfigurations are stacked so that the ground conductors 30 and 34, andthe signal wire 32 define a strip line structure. That is, the signalwire 32 is sandwiched between the ground conductors 30 and 34 in thez-axis direction, and stays in a region where the ground conductors 30and 34 are provided in a plan view from the z-axis direction asillustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D and 3. Further, all of the ground conductor30, the signal wire 32, and the ground conductor 34 are attached to thetop surfaces of the insulating sheets 22 b to 22 d where those areprovided.

Further, in FIG. 3, the insulating sheet 22 a may not be arranged sothat the ground conductor 30 is exposed. As a consequence, the restoringforce caused by the elasticity of the insulating sheet 22 a is reducedand the bending state is easily retained.

Next, the use state of the signal line 10 will be described. FIG. 4Aillustrates the state where the signal line 10 is curved. FIG. 4B is anenlarged view of portion B shown in FIG. 4A.

The signal line 10 is curved so that the signal wire projects toward thenegative-direction side in the z-axis direction in a plan view from they-axis direction as illustrated in FIG. 4A. At that time, the groundconductors 30 and 34 are plastically deformed, and the insulating sheet22 is elastically deformed. More specifically, no expansion/contractionoccurs in the insulating sheets 22 b and 22 c on a border Linel (thatis, the midpoint of the main body 12 in the z-axis direction) betweenthe insulating sheet 22 c and the signal wire 32 (or the insulatingsheet 22 b) that are illustrated in FIG. 4B. Further, elasticcontractions occur in the insulating sheets 22 a and 22 b provided onthe positive-direction side in the z-axis direction relative to theborder Linel. On the other hand, elastic expansions occur in theinsulating sheets 22 c and 22 d provided on the negative-direction sidein the z-axis direction relative to the border Line1.

Further, the ground conductor 30 is provided on the positive-directionside in the z-axis direction relative to the border Line1 as illustratedin FIG. 4B. Therefore, the ground conductor 30 is plastically deformedin the state of contracting in the x-axis direction. On the other hand,the ground conductor is provided on the negative-direction side in thez-axis direction relative to the border Line1 as illustrated in FIG. 4B.Therefore, the ground conductor 34 is plastically deformed in the stateof expanding in the x-axis direction. The curved state of the main body12 is retained by the above-described plastic deformation of the groundconductors 30 and 34. Hereinafter, the mechanism to retain the curvedstate of the main body 12 will be described in more detail.

First, a line extending from the center of an arc defined by the signalwire 32 is determined to be a line Line2. Then, on the line Line2, thedistance from the border Linel to the border between the insulatingsheet 22 b and the ground conductor 30 is determined to be L1, and thedistance from the border Linel to the border between the insulatingsheet 22 d and the ground conductor 34 is determined to be L2. Further,on the line Line2, the distance from the border Linel to the top surfaceof the insulating sheet 22 a is determined to be L3, and the distancefrom the border Linel to the back surface of the insulating sheet 22 dis determined to be L4.

When the main body 12 is curved, the restoring force restoring the mainbody 12 to the linearly extending state as in

FIG. 1 is exerted on the insulating sheets 22 a to 22 d due to theelasticity of themselves. More specifically, since a contraction occursin the insulating sheet 22 a, a force F3 causing expansion occurs. Onthe other hand, since an expansion occurs in the insulating sheet 22 d,a force F4 causing contraction is exerted. Although a force causingexpansion is exerted on the insulating sheet 22 b and a force causingcontraction is exerted on the insulating sheet 22 c, those arerelatively small and omitted here.

Furthermore, since the two ground conductors 30 and 34, which are notplastically deformed alone, are parallel to each other at a specifieddistance, the ground conductors are plastically deformed as describedabove. Accordingly, even though the restoring force of the insulatingsheet 22 is exerted on the ground conductors 30 and 34, the forceretaining the plastic-deformation state of the ground conductors 30 and34 exceeds the restoring force so that the curved state of the main body12 is retained. More specifically, a force F1 obstructing the expansionof the insulating sheets 22 a and 22 b occurs in the ground conductor30. That is, the forces F1 and F3 are vectors pointing in oppositedirections. Further, a force F2 obstructing the contraction of theinsulating sheets 22 c and 22 d occurs in the ground conductor 34. Thatis, the forces F2 and F4 are vectors pointing in opposite directions.

When the above-described forces F1 to F4 occur, moments caused by theforces F1 to F4 are determined to be moments M1 to M4. The moments M1 toM4 are illustrated as below. Further, an intersection point of theborder Line1 and the line Line2 is determined to be a center, and amoment occurring clockwise is determined to be positive and thatoccurring counterclockwise is determined to be negative.

M1=−F1×L1

M2=−F2×L2

M3=F3×L3

M4=F4×L4

Then, the main body 12 retains the curved state with a curvature amountobtained when the total sum of M1 to M4 is 0.

Here, there are various conditions for retaining the curved state of themain body 12 by the plastic deformation of the ground conductors 30 and34 in the signal line 10. Therefore, an example of the conditions willbe described below. As a comparative example, a signal line X includingthe ground conductor 30 and no ground conductor 34, and a signal line Yincluding the ground conductor 34 and no ground conductor 30, in thesignal line 10, are prepared.

Next, the signal lines 10, X, and Y are curved so that the signal wire32 draws an arc with the same radius. At that time, the signal line 10can retain the curved state, and the signal lines X and Y cannot retainthe curved state. In that case, the curved states of the signal lines Xand Y are not retained by the plastic deformation of only the groundconductor or ground conductor 34, and that of the signal line 10 isretained by the plastic deformation of the ground conductors 30 and 34.Then, the condition of the signal line 10 satisfying the state isdefined as a condition to retain the curved state of the main body 12 bythe plastic deformation of the ground conductors 30 and 34.

It is easy to retain, in the signal line 10, the state where the mainbody 12 is curved to project toward the negative-direction side in thez-axis direction. More specifically, in the signal line 10, the groundconductor 30 is sandwiched between the insulating sheets 22 a and 22 bfrom the z-axis direction, and attached more firmly to the insulatingsheet 22 b provided on the negative-direction side in the z-axisdirection than to the insulating sheet 22 a provided on thepositive-direction side in the z-axis direction. Then, the main body 12is curved to project toward the negative-direction side in the z-axisdirection. Accordingly, the ground conductor 30 is not attached to theinsulating sheet 22 a on a main surface (top surface) which ispositioned inside when being curved. Therefore, the force causing theinsulating sheet 22 a to expand when the main body 12 is curved hardlyreaches the ground conductor 30. As a result, the restoring forcecausing the main body 12 to return to the linearly-extending state isdecreased so that the state where the main body 12 is curved to projecttoward the negative-direction side in the z-axis direction is easilyretained. In other words, therefore, it is desirable that the groundconductors 30 and 34 positioned inside when the main body 12 is curvednot be attached to the insulating sheet 22 on the inner main surface.

Further, in the signal line 10, the curved state of the main body 12 isretained by the plastic deformation of the ground conductors 30 and 34as described above. Therefore, the metal plate 504 is not added to thesignal line 10, unlike the flexible printed substrate 500 disclosed inJapanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-165079. As aconsequence, the electrical characteristic of the signal line 10 hardlydeviates from the original value.

Although the insulating sheets 22 a to 22 d are preferably stacked inthe above-described signal line 10, the insulating sheet 22 a may beomitted and the insulating sheets 22 b to 22 d may be stacked to definethe strip line structure. Since the number of the stacked insulatingsheets 22 is decreased, the signal line 10 can be easily bent, and theU-shape of the bent signal line 10 can be easily retained. In that case,however, the ground conductor 30 of the insulating sheet 22 b isexposed.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a method of manufacturing thesignal line 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A-2D. Althoughan example where the single signal line 10 is manufactured will bedescribed below, a plurality of the signal lines 10 preferably ismanufactured at the same time by stacking and cutting large insulatingsheets in reality.

First, the insulating sheet 22 including a copper layer provided on theentire top surface is prepared. Processing is performed so that thesurface roughness of the top surface of the copper layer of the preparedinsulating sheet 22 becomes smaller than that of the back surface. Morespecifically, the top surface of the copper layer of the insulatingsheet 22 is smoothed by being applied with zinc coating, for example.Planarization processing includes, for example, chemical polishing suchas electrolytic polishing, and mechanical polishing.

Next, the external terminal 14 illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D is provided onthe top surface of the insulating sheet 22 a. More specifically, aresist having the same shape as that of the external terminal 14illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D is printed on the copper layer of theinsulating sheet 22 a via a photolithography operation. Then, an etchingprocess is performed for the copper layer to remove a portion of thecopper layer, which is not covered with the resist. After that, theresist is removed to provide the external terminal 14 illustrated inFIGS. 2A-2D on the top surface of the insulating sheet 22 a.

Next, the ground conductor 30 illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D is provided onthe top surface of the insulating sheet 22 b. Further, the signal wire32 illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D is provided on the top surface of theinsulating sheet 22 c via a photolithography operation. Further, theground conductor 34 illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D is provided on the topsurface of the insulating sheet 22 d via a photolithography operation.Incidentally, since those photolithography operations are equivalent tothe photolithography operation performed to provide the externalterminal 14, the description thereof is omitted. According to theabove-described operations, the insulating sheets 22 b and 22 d with thetop surfaces where the ground conductors 30 and 34 are attached, and theinsulating sheet 22 c with the top surface where the signal wire 32 isattached are prepared.

Next, laser beams are applied to the positions where the via-holeconductors b1 to b16 of the insulating sheets 22 a to 22 c are providedto form via holes. Then, conductive pastes including copper ortin/silver alloy as the main ingredients are charged into the via holesformed in the insulating sheets 22 a to 22 c to provide the via-holeconductors bl to b16 illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2D.

Next, the insulating sheets 22 a to 22 d are stacked in that order fromthe positive-direction side to the negative-direction side in the z-axisdirection so that the ground conductor 30, the signal wire 32, and theground conductor 34 define the strip line structure. Then, forces areexerted on the insulating sheets 22 a to 22 d from thepositive-direction side and the negative-direction side in the z-axisdirection so that the insulating sheets 22 a to 22 d arepressure-contacted. Accordingly, the signal line 10 illustrated in FIG.1 is obtained.

Further, the description indicates that it is desirable that the groundconductors 30 and 34 positioned inside when the main body 12 is curvednot be attached to the insulating sheet 22 on the inner main surface.Therefore, the ground conductor 34 may not be attached to the insulatingsheet 22 d. In that case, the main body 12 is easily curved to projecttoward the positive-direction side in the z-axis direction.

Further, when the ground conductor 30 is not attached to the insulatingsheet 22 a and the ground conductor 34 is not attached to the insulatingsheet 22 d, the main body 12 is easily curved to project toward both thepositive-direction side and the negative-direction side in the z-axisdirection.

However, the above statement does not prevent the ground conductors 30and 34 positioned inside when the main body 12 is curved from beingattached to the insulating sheet 22 on the inner main surface.

Incidentally, a multilayer substrate according to various preferredembodiments of the present invention is not limited to the signal line10. Therefore, circuit substrates may be provided on both ends of thesignal line 10, for example.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are useful for amultilayer substrate, and excellent at retaining the curved statewithout causing fluctuations in the electrical characteristic, forexample.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will beapparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scopeand spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention,therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.

1. A multilayer substrate comprising: a main body including a pluralityof insulating sheets to be stacked and made of a flexible material; asignal wire disposed in the main body; a first ground conductor that isprovided at one side of the signal wire in a stacking direction in themain body, such that the first ground conductor overlaps the signal wirein a plan view seen from the stacking direction; and a second groundconductor that is provided at the other side of the signal wire in thestacking direction in the main body, such that the second groundconductor overlaps the signal wire in a plan view seen from the stackingdirection; wherein the main body including the signal wire retains acurved state by plastic deformation of the first and second groundconductors.
 2. The multilayer substrate according to claim 1, whereinwhen the main body including only one of the first and second groundconductors is curved, the curved state of the main body cannot beretained by plastic deformation of the first ground conductor or thesecond ground conductor.
 3. The multilayer substrate according to claim1, wherein the main body is curved to project toward the other side inthe stacking direction, the first ground conductor is plasticallydeformed in a state of contracting in a direction in which the signalwire extends, and the second ground conductor is plastically deformed ina state of expanding in the direction in which the signal wire extends.4. The multilayer substrate according to claim 3, whereinexpansion/contraction does not occur at specified positions on theinsulating sheets when the main body is curved, the first groundconductor is provided on the one side in the stacking direction relativeto the specified position, and the second ground conductor is providedon the other side in the stacking direction relative to the specifiedposition.
 5. The multilayer substrate according to claim 1, wherein eachof the insulating sheets has a Young's modulus of about 2 GPa to about30 GPa, and the signal wire and the first and second ground conductorshave a Young's modulus of about 100 GPa to about 150 GPa.
 6. Themultilayer substrate according to claim 1, wherein each of theinsulating sheets is made of a liquid-crystal polymer, and the signalwire and the first and second ground conductors are made of copperlayers.
 7. The multilayer substrate according to claim 1, wherein athickness of the first and second ground conductors in the stackingdirection is about 5 μm to about 25 μm.
 8. The multilayer substrateaccording to claim 1, wherein spacing between the first and secondground conductors in the stacking direction is about 50 μm to about 200μm.
 9. The multilayer substrate according to claim 1, wherein the mainbody is curved to project toward the other side in the stackingdirection, and the first ground conductor is sandwiched between theinsulating sheets from the stacking direction, and attached more weaklyto the insulating sheet lying on one side in the stacking direction thanto the insulating sheet lying on the other side in the stackingdirection.